Nobody is Calling
by Discord the Draconequus
Summary: A series of oneshots taking place before Somebody is Calling, detailing Larxene's time in Organization XIII.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, look what we've got here," the man in the black cloak exclaimed, patting the empty shell on the back. "A new member! Number one's gonna want a look at you, but in the meantime, _you_ need a name."

The shell watched with a blank expression on it's face as the name ARLENE appeared in blue script in the air before the cloaked man.

"Arlene, not bad, but I think it could still use a little something... I got it!" The cloaked man snapped his fingers and the letters of the shell's former name span into a blur and a large golden X appeared in the center.

The spinning finally died down to reveal the shell's new name. "Welcome to Orginazation XIII, Number twelve... Larxene."

The newly named Larxene said nothing as the man congratulated himself on the epithet. She simply stared at the cloaked man until he gave a start. "Oh yeah, where are my manners! Name's Xigbar, Number two in the Organization. Which means I'm pretty close to being your boss!"

This was a concept Larxene could understand. He must be her new Conductor. Which would make this Number one the Composer. And a Reaper's duty was to follow the Conductor's lead. So she followed him through a hole in the world, never looking back as she did. After all, it wasn't like she felt anything for this place.


	2. Chapter 2

Number twelve was an odd one. Not only had she not said a single word to anybody in the weeks since she joined the Organization, she was also their first female member. It was this rarity that caused several members to take an interest in her, Luxord included.

Oh, but not for the reasons Xigbar or Demyx might. No, he was simply there for the bets on what Larxene would be like when she recalls her former personality. Will she be kind? Cruel? Will she be as obedient as she has been, or will she rebel at every opportunity? These were the things about Number twelve that interested Luxord.

Perhaps this was why he requested a mission with her, so as not to miss a moment where profit could be made.

"So," the Gambler of Fate remarked, more to fill the silence then anything else, "I couldn't help but notice this mission has two objectives. Care to make a wager?"

He wasn't really expecting a reply from their newest member, so he was as surprised as a Nobody could be when she turned to look right at him. Taking this as a good sign, he continued.

"How about we split up, and see which one of us can accomplish an objective first? The loser will owe the winner five hundred Munny."

Luxord waited with bated breath for her reply, if there would be one. At the moment, Number twelve was seemingly thinking about something. When her expression finally changed, Luxord knew he had struck gold. His dreams were promptly crushed when he heard the Nobody Larxene's first words:

"Sorry, I don't take sucker bets."

It was then that he knew, Number twelve would be an interesting member.


	3. Chapter 3

If Xemnas was the Composer, and Xigbar was the Conductor, Saix had to be the Game Master. Larxene had never gotten an order from the Superior that hadn't come through number Seven, and today was no exception.

"Larxene," Saix called, "I have received several complaints about your work ethic since you began to remember your former life."

Larxene scoffed, she would have to find out who had reported her, probably Vexen. Still, that was for another time, "Hey, I still get my missions done, right? If you want to scold someone about poor workplace efficiency, talk to Demyx or Zexion. They're two of the laziest Nobodies I've ever met."

Saix affixed her with a cold glare, "We are not here to talk about number Nine or number Six. We are here to talk about you. I have addressed the Superior about this, and he has suggested putting a time limit on your missions."

If Larxene had blood, it would have run cold at that statement. A Timer. Even high rank Reapers occasionally received orders that came with a time limit, and the price for failure was always the same thing: Erasure.

"Hey, that's a bit much, don't you think? I mean, I could breeze through mission after mission if I wanted to." It was times like these that Larxene appreciated not having a heart anymore. Well, so much as someone without a heart can appreciate anything. Any emotions she showed would just be an act, an imitation of the Reaper Arlene. If something would have scared Arlene enough to rattle her, Larxene could just stop acting.

However, Saix wasn't impressed "It sounds like the problem is motivation then, something a time limit would assist with."

'Great going, Larxene. You just painted yourself into a corner.' It was times like these Larxene wished she still had her heart. Again, so much as a Nobody could want. Fear was a survival instinct, it was what kept her un-Erased in her own time in the Game. Now she was pretty much trapped with this mission format.

Saix shot her a level stare, "It seems as though you have run out of objections. Very well, on to your mission for the day, from the Superior himself. 'Go to the world of Halloween Town and defeat twenty pureblood Heartless. You have two hours. Failure will be met with severe consequences.'"

Larxene almost clutched her right hand out of reflex. This proved it, number One knew exactly what he was doing here. However, just because it was a scare tactic didn't mean it wasn't an effective one. The other members in the common room watched in shock as Larxene ran through the Dark Corridor so fast they could swear for a second there were two of her.


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell?"

Larxene felt her confusion was justified, seeing as when she exited the Dark Corridor another Larxene followed her. Or was it that another Larxene appeared in front of her? "Why, in all the worlds, are there two of me?!"

Her confusion wasn't helped by the fact that the other her said the exact same thing at the exact same time. In fact, as far as she could tell, they were perfectly identical.

'Okay, this is really weird. I'd better sort this out before any Heartless show up- too late!' Larxene jumped to the right to avoid the claw of the Neoshadow that had appeared behind her, the same time as the other her threw Foudre at it.

As the knife sunk into the dark creature, something happened that shocked Larxene. Not only had she felt the other her throw her knife, not only had the other her seen the Neoshadow, but there was also a familiar orb of light passing from her copy to her (or was that from her to her copy, she honestly couldn't tell.)

The Light Puck could only be used when one had a Partner. Normally Reapers just projected an image of themselves into the other zone to fight, but this was clearly the real deal. 'Whatever, I'll figure it out later. For now, I'd better focus on the mission.'

RTC RTC RTC RTC RTC RTC RTC

Larxene stared at Larxene. Larxene stared back. She had figured it out while they were fighting and a Darkball had slammed into her, and they both felt the pain. It wasn't another her, it **was** her. She had somehow split herself into two beings.

"Hey me, I'm back with the dango!"

Oh, and she had figured out how to make more. "You don't need to tell me, I was there!"

It kind of helped to treat her bodies as separate beings with linked senses, but it was a lie. All of them were her, and she was all of them. By this point, Arlene might have started freaking out, but Larxene was made of sterner stuff. This was an advantage, one she'd use to the best of her ability. She stood up, took the dango from herself, and clapped her on the shoulder, merging with her. Her other body also stood up, and walked into her, merging as well.

It was when she sparred with Axel the next day, overwhelming him with a swarm of herself that she earned her title: Larxene, number Twelve of Organization XIII, the Savage Nymph.


	5. Chapter 5

Larxene wasn't quite sure what to make of the Organization's newest member. For one thing, he was a brat. Just old enough to be able to play the Reaper's Game. For another, his heart was running around on it's own, and not as a Heartless. No, his heart was still acting like his Somebody, something that baffled Larxene. Shouldn't a heart acting without a body of Darkness be impossible? And for that matter, his Nobody looks nothing like him! What's up with that?! And- "Ugh, I've got to stop thinking about this. I'm starting to sound like Vexen."

So the kid was weird. So what! All that mattered was that he could wield the Keyblade. She was sure that the new member- Roxas, was it?- would regain his memories soon enough, and then she'd have another annoyance to deal with. Honestly, she couldn't care less about how the kid would further the Organization's plans. She didn't particularly want her heart back. After all, she had been called Heartless as Arlene and reveled in it. In fact, she and Uzuki used to compete to see how many Players they could get to curse their names in a single week, and the loser would buy the winner (and Kariya) ramen.

...Another good thing about not having a heart: she didn't feel anything when she remembered they were gone along with Shibuya.

It was a good thing there weren't any mind readers in the Organization, otherwise she'd have to erase them to keep her reputation. She was the Savage Nymph, the legendary sadist, people couldn't know she used to have _friends._

She was brought out of her thoughts by Number XIII approaching her. "What do you want? I'm busy. Go bang your head against the glass or something if you're bored."

Met with her cold retort, the kid swiftly backed off. Still, Larxene mused, it would be nice to have someone she could boss around. She was sick of being at the bottom of the chain of command. Maybe make him get her Ramen, she was having a craving for it now.


End file.
